Musee Bourdelle, Paris

In 1885, Antoine Bourdelle engaged a studio in the growing artist colony close to Montparnasse in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.  Near the end of his life, Antoine planned to create a museum much like his predecessor Rodin, and in 1949 the Bourdelle Museum opened -- Antoine's wife Cleopatre donated his studio and most of his sculpture collection to the City of Paris.  Additional donations throughout the years have brought an astounding number of works to the museum:  2000 plaster sculptures, 2200 bronzes, 198 paintings, 6000 graphics 13,000 photographs and Bourdelle's personal collection.

This jewel of a museum is easily accessed by Metro and was a wonderful treat on a sunny day in Paris.  I snapped these photos while viewing the Madame Gres exhibition in the museum, shown in my last posting.  Many of the sculptures and bronzes are massive and overwhelming; others are sweet and life-sized. Open 10-6:00 every day except Mondays and holidays -- I recommend a visit to young and old!  Enjoy my photos and please subscribe at the top of this posting.  Thanks for looking!

Madame Gres Exhibition, Bourdelle Museum, Paris

The Madame Gres Exhibition in Paris is closing this month, and it was one of the most divine collections I've ever seen, juxtaposed with the fabulous sculptures of the Bourdelle Museum.  Thanks to a grant from the Pierre Berge-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation, the dresses, illustrations and jewelry were perfectly showcased.  Madame Gres died at the age of 90 in 1993, and her designs could be plucked off the rack today for myriad occasions. The clean lines of some of the dresses reminded me of those worn by the Duchess of Cambridge.  Suzy Menkes wrote a great review in the New York Times earlier this year if you want to read more about the designer or the exhibit. The museum did not allow me to take photos with a flash, so I did my best to capture the some of the delights.  Please subscribe to my blog in the box above, and watch for more postings soon!